World in Brief

Genome sequenced in a few weeks

US: It took the Human Genome Project 13 years to successfully sequence the human genome with the help of hundreds of researchers and at a cost of US$300m which was completed in 2003. However, thanks to technological progress, a Stanford University Professor has managed to sequence his genome in just a few weeks at a cost below US$50,000 and with the help of just a single machine. With this development, it is hoped that DNA sequencing will become faster and cheaper to the extent that it will be easily available to everyone at an affordable price.

Eddy Rubin, the director of the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute said of the achievement, "Its continuing down the path to making it so every Tom, Dick and Harry are going to have their own genome sequenced." So far, the number of successfully sequenced human genomes have been extremely limited due to its cost and the complexity of its process. Several machines are usually required to decipher the DNA sequence by reading the four chemicals that will make up a "letter", however as the researcher responsible for the recent success, Stanford bioengineering professor Stephen Quake said, "We've shown it can be done with one machine and just three people…" With the advent of this genome revolution, researchers hope that cheap and affordable DNA test will make it possible to have customised and more effective disease prevention methods where diagnosis and treatment are customised to an individual’s DNA.

"It makes genome science accessible to a much
broader segment of the scientific community...
It’s really democratizing the fruits of the genome revolution."

- Stephen Quake,
Stanford bioengineering professor who
sequenced his own genome in a few weeks.

India's contractmanufacturing forte

India is the destination when it comes to contract manufacturing especially with regard to outsourcing drug production according to a report by Ernst & Young and the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India.

The report stated that over 80% of big and medium pharmaceutical companies worldwide prefer India to other manufacturers in the world and estimates India's growth in this industry at 43% per year, while a report by Frost & Sullivan projects a US$6.5b industry by 2013.

India has about 100 manufacturers approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FTA) which shows the potential of the industry.

Big pharma companies such as Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are venturing into partnerships with local Indian manufacturers such as Claris Lifesciences, Aurobindo and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories respectively. However, while India has the resources to attract foreign investments, Indian pharmaceuticals have not managed to develop their own research and development.

The Malaysian biotechnology industry is eyeing the South-East Asian market which promises to be a lucrative avenue. Due to the similarities between the countries in this region in terms of climate and other important features, biotechnology products produced within the region itself may be more reliable as opposed to products from other regions. Furthermore, drugs produced in South East Asia promise to be less costly than those manufactured in the West. Although the Malaysian biotech industry is at an early stage, it is showing strong potential for growth. One project as announced by Fadillah Yusof, Deputy Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, is a joint effort with Cuba to produce cancer antibodies.

In a move to overcome the shortage of doctors and medical officers in the country, the Health Ministry plans to hire more private doctors to work in government hospitals. Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican, the Director-General of the Health Ministry, made this announcement at the 8th Ministry of Health Malaysia-Academy of Medicine of Malaysia Scientific Meeting 2009 at the Institute for Health Management on the 17th of June. Allaying concerns about remuneration, Tan Sri Dr Ismail that private sector doctors under the scheme will receive adequate compensation and that the procedure would be hassle free.

He also remarked that by combining the experience of working in the hospital and the expertise of skilled medical practitioners, patients will be able to get optimum treatment. To this, Tan Sri Dr Ismail revealed the ministry had received many complaints from doctors who wanted to join public hospitals but had to wait up to a year for their applications to be processed.

"The private doctors can work based on contract or sessions.
They can work two weeks in a private hospital and spend the rest of the month
in a government hospital. It would be like putting one leg in the
public hospital and the other in a private hospital."

- Tan Sri Ismail Merican,
Malaysia's Health Director-General.